Production of seed sprouts

ABSTRACT

Sprouting various seeds and growing these sprouts for the purpose of providing edible sprouts as a vegetable.

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PRUIDWJiCTiIUN @119 sum) SPUVU'HFS Everton G. lPoindexter; Hugh M.Scolli, both of Monroe, Conn. 06468 Filed: OM21. 8, 1969 Appl. No.:$841,737

111 1 and ILLS. Appiicmiou 11mm Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 736,468,June 12, 1968, abandoned, Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 651,591, July6, 1967, abandoned.

Inventors:

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[ Web, 22, 11972 V56 or mmi ia iwe 91W or UNITED STATES PATENTS2,296,849 9/ 1942 Hammerstrom or al. ..47/16 2,436,652 2/1948 Lee..47/1.2 2,750,713 6/1956 Chin ..47/14 2,810,988 10/ 1957 Chin ..47/142,928,211 3/1960 Martin... ..47/1.2 3,328,912 7/1967 Poon ..47/1 2Primary Examiner-Robert E. Bagwill AttorneyPennie, Edmonds, Morton,Taylor and Adams [57 sc'r Sprouting various seeds and growing thesesprouts for the purpose of providing edible sprouts as a vegetable.

s chime; 2 Wing Figures THERMOSTAT INVENTORS HUGH M. SCOTT EERTON G.POINDEXTER ATTORNEYS PltOlDlUC'llllUN 01F SEED SPRQUTS This applicationis a continuation-in-part of application, Ser. No. 736,468 filed June12, 1968 and application, Ser. No. 651,591, filed July 6, 1967, bothabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention See Above.

2. Description of the Prior Art Chin U.S. Pat. No. 2,750,713 relates tothe growing of bean sprouts for food. A bed of the beans is immersed ina body of water every 4 hours under the control of a time switch and afloat-operated switch which cuts off the flow of water only when thebeans and sprouts have been completely submerged. The water is sprayedonto the beans and sprouts through a perforated pipe. Four days arerequired for the sprouts to be ready for removal and consumption.

Martin U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,211 relates to an apparatus for growing grassand oats for livestock in quantity production. The growing is onsuperposed trays within a cabinet. The seeds and sprouts are wettedperiodically 4 minutes in each hour by spraying. Water is collected atthe bottom of the cabinet and recirculated through a filter. Artificiallight is provided within the cabinet to enhance growth. A nutrientliquid is employed for the same purpose instead of merely water. Sevendays are required for adequate growth.

Hammerstrom et al. US. Pat. No. 2,296,849 relates to apparatus forgrowing soy beans for food. Warm water is delivered by sprinklers ontobeans arranged in trays. A timing valve for this purpose opens atintervals varying from A; hour to 2 hours. No mention is made of thegrowing time.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON The present invention is directed particularlyto the germination of mung beans and the growing of mung bean sproutsalthough sprouts may also be grown from other seeds such as soy beans,corn wheat and barley using the method and apparatus of this invention.

it has been found that there are enzymes which develop in the naturalgrowth cycle of bean sprouts. These enzymes are manufactured in theroots of the growing organisms and ooze out of the ends of the roots.Their purpose seems to be to attack and penetrate the soil of thenatural growing bed and thus make it easier for the roots to penetratethis soil. However, in the growing tank for seed sprouts there is nosoil and the enzymes attack the growing organism itself and inhibit itsgrowth. See Journal of Experimental Botany for Nov., 1966, pp. 750etseq., an article by 1.1(. Smith and L. Fowden; also Pytopathology" forAug, 1967, pp. 867 etseq., an article by Kraft dc Erwin entitled MungBean Exudates. The enzymes in question include glutamic acid, serine,glycene, theonine, alpha alamine, valine and others.

Any of these enzymes develop continuously throughout the growth cycle ofthe sprouts and will inhibit the sprout growth unless removed. One ofthe features of the present invention is the removal of these enzymes insuch a way that they do not interfere with the growth of the beansprouts. This is accomplished by passing water particles over thegrowing sprouts by introducing a mist of water above the seed bed in thegrowing tank. The mist condenses on at least the uppermost layer ofseeds in the bed and water particles continuously pass through thegrowing seed and sprout organisms so that the action of the inhibitingenzymes is constantly thwarted.

The use of intermittent water sprays as required in the methods of theabove mentioned prior patents produces periods of varying lengths oftime when no water particles are seeping through the bed and removingthe inhibiting enzymes. The growth of the sprouts thus produced isretarded and a much longer period is required. The shortest growthperiod according to any of the above patents is four days whereas munggrown sprouts have been repeatedly produced in accordance with thepresent invention in a period of 60 hours or 2 s days.

A further disadvantage of the use of sprays is to be found in the damagedone to the growing sprouts. A continuous spray stream striking a sproutcan break it in two pieces. Also the growth direction of a small sproutmay be constantly changed by the force of the spray and this willproduce a crooked sprout growth, sometimes following helical pattern.Such sprouts are less desirable to eat and are harder to package.

When water sprays are used as in the prior patents the spray head mustbe adjust for coverage of the sprouts for one of two conditions asfollows: Either the head must be adjusted to cover the sprouts as theybegin to grow, in other words to cover the starting seed bed, or thespray head must be adjusted for the end of the growth period and havethe water build up on and wash the walls of the tank. in the firstsituation as the sprouts grow the coverage by the water spray willdiminish leaving an unwatered area of sprouts. Under the secondcondition the water washing down the walls of the tank will push thesmall fragile bean seeds toward the center and can damage these seeds asdescribed above.

Under either of these conditions unequal growth of the sprouts willresult.

in accordance with the invention, water alone, without the addition ofany nutrient, and at a temperature sufficient to induce seed germinationand the growth of the sprouts is introduced as a fine mist or fog ofwater vapor above the seed bed and in sufficient amount to fill thetreating zone above the bed. The water is allowed to condense on the toplayer of the seeds and to slowly seep down through the lower layers. Theamount of water necessary to properly wet the seeds and resultingsprouts may be varied from time to time in accordance with the changinggrowth conditions. This is accomplished without interfering with theseepage of the condensed fog or mist through the lower layers of theseeds which removes or rinses away the enzymes which develop by thegrowth of the sprouts and which tend to inhibit such growth. There isnever any interference with this constant removal of the enzymes.

Such variation in the amount of water required by the seed and sproutgrowth without interfering with the carrying away of the enzymes isaccomplished by introducing the fine mist or vapor of water above theseed bed in frequent, short applications. Advantageously the cycles ofwater application are about 60 seconds in duration of which during from10 to 30 seconds the fine mist is introduced, and during the remainderof such cycle the fine mist of water is cut off. The variation of themist application time between 10 and 30 seconds of the 60 second cycleenables the operator to control the amount of water that wets the seedbed and the growing sprouts, but without interfering with the continuousremoval of the enzymes.

The frequent misting just described produces a high humidity within thebed of beans and sprouts, very nearly 100 percent.

The temperature of the water producing fine mist is held within a rangeof from to l 10 F. The temperature in the bed of seeds and sprouts willbe only slightly lower. The core temperature is only slightly higherthan the remainder of the bed and this more uniform tank temperature ismaintained throughout the growing period and a more uniform growth ofthe sprouts results, i.e., sprouts of similar length and thicknessthroughout the bed.

By our more frequent watering we are able not only to remove the enzymesmentioned previously but also sugar, glucose, frutose and sucrose and tospeed up the growth of the sprouts.

The apparatus for carrying out the method in accordance with thisinvention includes a source of warm water the temperature of which isclosely controlled. This may be either from a tank heated electricallyor otherwise and provided with a suitable control thermostat, or fromsources of hot and cold water and a thermostatically controlled mixingvalve.

The enclosure for the seeds is a container or growing tank or box of anydesired shape and size and provided with a cover "CARI or door throughwhich the seeds are introduced and the grown sprouts removed and whichis closed from the beginning to the end of the growing period to confinethe seed and exclude light but which is arranged to admit sufficient airfor germination and growth. Within this container there is a suitablesupport for the bed of seeds so arranged as to allow the water seepingthrough the seeds to drain through the support without restriction andbe discharged through a drainage outlet from the container.

Warm water is delivered through or near the top of the container bymeans of a conduit or hose and to a misting device or mister whichproduces a fine mist of water distributed uniformly throughout the areaof the container. A solenoid operated valve is placed in the conduitleading to the mister and a time switch is arranged for the control ofthis valve.

Such time switch or pulser is adjusted to cause the misting to takeplace for a few seconds followed by a cutoff period of a few seconds,the complete cycle being about 1 minute. The on-and-off periods can bevaried but are of short duration being measured in seconds rather thanin minutes or hours.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustrationof one form of apparatus we have devised for growing seed sprouts inaccordance with our present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view partly in section, of the misting device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing thegrowing tank is indicated at l and as shown is an upright cylindricalcontainer having a conical bottom 2 at the center of which is adrainpipe 3. The tank may be of any desired and suitable shape and sizeto accommodate the amount of produce to be grown. It may be made ofplastic, metal, plastic lined metal, fiberglas or other material. Theinner surface should be nonheat conducting or the vessel suitablyinsulated.

At a suitable distance above the bottom brackets 4 are mounted on theinterior wall of the tank and a shelf 5 of 6 to 8 inches mesh screen isplaced upon these brackets. On the upper surface of this screen there isa perforated plastic sheet or plate 6. The seeds, such for example asmung beans, are arranged in a seed bed 7 on the upper surface ofperforated sheet 6 which serves as a nonheat-conducting support.

As shown the seed bed 7 consists of about three layers of beans, but thethickness of this bed may be greater and depends to a great extent onthe height of the tank. The bean sprouts grow in superposed layers as isusual with bean sprouts, the sprouts in each layer growing to a heightof from 3 to 4 inches. When fully grown these superposed layers mayreach approximately to the top of growing tank 1 depending upon itssize.

Growing tank 1 is provided with a removable cover 8 which fits the uppercircular rim of the tank, a flanged construction being shown. Cover 8 isremoved for the placing of the seed bed 7, and, later on, for theremoval of the grown sprouts.

Warm water for the growing of the sprouts may be supplied in anyconvenient way so long as its temperature is closely regulated. As shownan electrically heated water supply tank 10 is provided whichadvantageously is insulated to conserve heat. An outlet pipe 1 1 nearthe top of tank 10 extends to the vicinity of growing tank 1 terminatingin a flexible hose 12.

Hose 12 conducts the warm water to a short length of pipe 13 which ismounted in an aperture in cover 8 and is provided at its lower end witha misting nozzle 14 of special construction which produces an extremelyfine slow settling mist l5 and delivers this mist uniformly throughoutthe entire area of the tank forming a body of watery vapor or fog aboveseed bed 7, and later on over the entire area of the growing sprouts.

The misting nozzle 14 as shown in FIG. 2 disperses a very fine mist byfirst directing a small stream of water through an orifice 29 onto aflat end 30 of a larger diameter rod 31. The

stream is then broken up in a nearly 360 direction and converted intosmall particles.

The small stream of water from orifice 29 strikes the smooth flatsurface 30 and is split into an almost infinite number of tiny streamswhich are projected radially in all directions around nozzle 14 andwithin tank 1. These minute streams are indicated by the dotted lines 32in FIG. 1 and are located nearly in a horizontal plane, the minutestreams being so tiny that they soon break up and form a cloud of fog ormist 15 before they have reached a point very far from the center of thetank. The pressure of the water entering nozzle 14 is from 40 to 50pounds per square inch. The higher the pressure the finer the mist andthe nearer the streams 36 approach a flat plane.

The fine mist or fog l5 completely fills the tank above the seed bed 7and the bed of combined seeds and sprouts as the growing proceeds. Thismist wets and condenses on the uppermost layer of the seeds and formsinto droplets which seep downwardly by gravity through the lower layersof the seeds, then pass through the perforated plate 5 and drain outthrough drain pipe 3. As the seed sprouts grow the mist condenses on theupper portions of the sprouts into droplets which descend by gravitykeeping the sprouts wet and also the seeds of the lower layers.

To enable the cover 8 to be removed from the vicinity of the growingtank for cleaning purposes or otherwise, a quick coupling device 16 maybe provided between hose 12 and the upper end of pipe l3.

An electromagnetic valve 17 is arranged in pipe 11 to control thedelivery of the mist from mister 14 to the interior of the growing tank.This electromagnetic valve is controlled by a timing device 18 ofconventional construction and which is connected to valve 17 by thewires 19. Current is supplied to time switch 18 through wires 20 leadingfrom a main switch 21. Conductors 22 which are connected to wires 20lead through a thermostat 23 to a conventional heating element 9 withintank 10.

It will be understood that the time switch 18 is arranged so that theduration of the misting periods, as well as the intervals between theseperiods can be adjusted as desired. For example, timing device 18 can beadjusted to cause the valve 17 to remain open for a period of, say, 10seconds. At the end of such period the valve will be closed, to bereopened after an interval, of, say, 50 seconds. With mung beans formingthe seed bed 7 and the temperature of the warm water closely controlledat F. the bean sprouts have been grown as above described in 60 hours.

It will also be understood that although tank 1 is closed so as toexclude light it is so arranged as to admit sufficient ambient air tofacilitate the germination and growth of the seeds and sprouts. This maybe done for example by placing a few small holes 33 in the cover 8.

With a supply of fresh water available it is delivered through a supplypipe 24, a valve 25 and intake pipe 26 to the bottom of tank 10. Afterbeing heated in this tank by heating element 9, the warm water passesthrough pipe 11 at the top of the tank to the mister 14 as previouslydescribed.

We claim:

1. The method of growing seed sprouts which comprises:

a. providing a bed of seeds of substantially uniform thickness within aconfined treating zone;

b. periodically introducing into said zone a fine mist or fog of waterabove the seed bed and in sufficient amount to fill the treating zoneabove the seed bed with a mist or fog of water vapor, and to providewater for constant seepage through the seed bed;

0. maintaining a sufficient temperature in the treating zone to induceseed germination and to cause the formation of droplets of water atleast on the top layer of the seeds;

d. and removing from the bottom of the seed bed any water not absorbedby the seeds or sprouts; the amount of water being passed through theseed bed by condensation of the mist or fog being sufficient to therange of from to 1 10 F.

4. The method of growing seed sprouts according to claim l wherein themist is introduced into the treating zone during predeterminedon-and-otf periods of short duration measured in seconds until thesprouts attain the desired growth.

5. The method of growing seed sprouts according to claim d wherein theseeds are mung beans.

2. The method of growing seed sprouts according to claim 1 wherein thehumidity in the bed of seeds and growing sprouts is maintained atapproximately 100 percent.
 3. The method of growing seed sproutsaccording to claim 1 wherein the temperature of the water which producesthe mist is maintained approximately constant at a temperature withinthe range of from 90* to 110* F.
 4. The method of growing seed sproutsaccording to claim 1 wherein the mist is introduced into the treatingzone during predetermined on-and-off periods of short duration measuredin seconds until the sprouts attain the desired growth.
 5. The method ofgrowing seed sprouts according to claim 4 wherein the seeds are mungbeans.